Dreams can come true
by tv-crazy
Summary: CordanoMarsan. Elizabeth and Mark break up - why? What happens next? Don't read if you're an ME fan, you won't like it!
1. I'm what?

Ok, firstly, I own no-one, I'm just borrowing them.  
  
To enjoy this fic, accept that I have been liberal with the timeline! Elizabeth and Mark have been together for about 6 months, and then they broke up for about 2 months, then just recently got back together. Susan has just returned to County. Mark doesn't have a tumour - well not yet anyway. If he starts to annoy me, I might think about killing him off!  
  
If you're a fan of Mark and Elizabeth, you almost certainly won't like this fic.  
  
I think that's it. Please let me know what you think.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"..and I would have thought you would know by now that this is not a surgical consult Dr Greene" the red haired English surgeon spat as she walked off.  
  
She felt guilty when she saw the hurt in his eyes, and stopped to apologise. "Sorry, Mark, it's been a long day".  
  
"It's ok, Elizabeth, you can make it up to me tonight" he said smiling.  
  
"Oh, about tonight - I'm sorry, but I'm going to be held up here, and I'm already exhausted. Do you mind if we do it another night?" She could see the look of disappointment in his eyes, but she just wasn't in the mood to deal with it right now.  
  
As she left, she didn't see Susan Lewis shake her head while watching her walk out.  
  
Elizabeth got back to her office and sat down. She knew she needed to sort things out with Mark. Things hadn't been right in the weeks since they got back together. It seemed like a good idea when it happened, but in retrospect, Elizabeth realised she had just been lonely, and Mark wanted to get back with her, so she took the easy option. But she was now so stressed that she was exhausted all the time, and was actually waking up feeling physically sick some mornings.  
  
She had to talk to Mark - it wasn't fair to keep treating him this way. She resolved to talk to him on the weekend to sort things out once and for all. Mark was a lovely man, and she knew he loved her and would treat her well, but she just didn't feel the same about him. She loved him, but there was no passion between them, no real spark. That seemed to be enough for Mark, but it just wasn't enough for her. She needed passion in her life.  
  
No sooner had she started back in to her paperwork than she was paged downstairs to the ER again. She hoped it wasn't Mark, and she hoped it was a real consult this time! She got off the elevator and went to the desk, asking Jerry if he knew who had paged her. Jerry pointed her in the direction of Susan Lewis. Elizabeth cringed - that was her second least favourite option down here! Susan made her feel uncomfortable. The easy way Mark and Susan had renewed their friendship only served to make it more obvious to Elizabeth how strained her own relationship with him was.  
  
She quickly evaluated the patient as needing to go upstairs for an urgent appendectomy and walked beside the bed as they moved to the elevator. Suddenly she felt a rush of dizziness. She grabbed on to the bed she was pushing and stopped for a moment. It passed quickly and she moved on. She glanced around- good, no-one seemed to have noticed.  
  
As she travelled up in the lift, Elizabeth was forced to consider the thought she'd been trying to ignore the last couple of weeks. It was almost funny how she had been living in denial! She felt like one of those women on TV who gets sick and is dizzy, and the entire audience knows before she does that she's pregnant!  
  
Much as she had wanted to believe it was just the stress of work and dealing with Mark, she had known deep down for a week now that it was a possibility. She resolved to take a test as soon as she could. For now, she had a surgery to perform!  
  
~~~~~  
  
Elizabeth sat in the cubicle in the bathroom, staring at the wand she held in her hand. Just a few more seconds and she would know. She forced herself not to panic - not to think about the consequences - until she knew for sure. She looked again, and there it was - positive! Oh God - what was she going to do? Her relationship with Mark was all but over. Should she tell him? Should she stay with him and have the baby? Should she have the baby on her own? Should she even have the baby?  
  
There were too many questions to answer right now. She felt a strong feeling of panic overwhelm her, and she grabbed at the lock on the cubicle, forcing it open and ran out of the bathroom in to the hallway. She needed air. She couldn't breathe. She ran towards the elevator, practically gasping for breath. She didn't even notice Robert there until she pretty much ran right in to him.  
  
"You're in a hurry today, Dr Corday?" he said, looking almost amused at her flight.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Dr Romano. I - um - need to get to the ER" she said breathlessly, mirroring his formal address as she pushed past him.  
  
She hated how things were so awkward between them these days. He was so formal and polite now - something she always thought she'd be happy to see, yet as it turned out, she missed their banter. She missed the caustic barbs they used to throw at each other, the game they had played all the time, never giving in, never letting the other get the upper hand. But that was all gone, ever since --- but enough thinking about that. She had much bigger things to worry about now than Dr. Robert Romano.  
  
~~~  
  
Two days later, and Elizabeth still hadn't told Mark about the baby. She had convinced herself that she would have a check-up first to make sure everything was ok. There was no point in getting ahead of herself. Of course, she knew that was just an excuse. He was the father - he deserved to know regardless of the health of the foetus growing inside of her. She just wasn't ready to tell him yet.  
  
She had made an appointment at a private clinic rather than going to the one at County. The last thing she wanted was for Mark to hear it from someone else besides her.  
  
"Well, Elizabeth" she heard the doctor tell her, "Everything looks fine. You're progressing well. I'd say you're about 8 weeks along."  
  
She was very relieved to hear that everything was going ok. Despite the circumstances, she'd already gotten attached to this life growing inside of her. In theory, she was still considering the option of not having the baby at all, but she already knew in her heart she couldn't do that.  
  
Then she suddenly opened her eyes wide in shock as the rest of the doctor's words sank in.  
  
"8 weeks?" she said. "But that's impossible. Mark and I are only back together for 5 weeks. Are you sure?"  
  
"You're certainly more than 5 weeks along. We'll know for certain when I get your test results".  
  
Elizabeth's mind was whirling now. This couldn't be happening. It was bad enough when she thought she was having Mark's baby, but if she was 8 weeks gone, then it couldn't be his.  
  
There was only one other option. That one night! That night when she'd gone out for a drink after work to drown her sorrows, and ended up back at his place, a tangled mass of arms and legs, grasping desperately for each other through the night. Had they been safe? She was sure they had been, although there were parts of the evening she was hazy about. Other parts of the evening were burnt in to her memory, jumping out at her when least expected, but she pushed them aside now. She needed to think clearly.  
  
"You can get down now", she heard from her doctor and in a daze, Elizabeth got dressed, made a time for her next appointment and somehow found her way home.  
  
When she got home, she made herself some tea, and sat on the couch, trying to figure out what she would do. It was all so much to deal with. She was in a relationship that she wanted out of. She was pregnant from a one- night-stand with someone else. She was now again considering again whether or not she wanted to keep the baby, given the circumstances. What was she supposed to do?  
  
She knew she had to break up with Mark. How was she supposed to put it? *Um, Mark, I don't think we should see each other anymore, and by the way, I'm carrying another man's child*. Yeah, that was going to sound good.  
  
God, how did she get herself in to this situation?  
  
~~~~~~  
  
The first thing she did was to call Mark and ask if she could come over. She felt so bad because he sounded genuinely pleased that she had called.  
  
When she got to his house, he opened the door, and it was only then she realised how she must have looked, because his face fell on seeing her expression. He invited her in, wordlessly and indicated she sit on the couch. She didn't sit down. She took his hands in hers, and looking in to his eyes, she started to speak -  
  
"Mark - I'm sorry, but I don't think things are working out" she said tentatively.  
  
He looked away initially - seemingly collecting his emotions. Then he turned back to her, giving her a wry smile. "I guess I knew that was what you were going to say. And much as I haven't wanted to admit it, I know you're right - things haven't been right. I just wanted to try to work it out, but it's probably too late." He said, and then added "you do know I love you, right?"  
  
She nodded. "I love you too Mark, but it's not enough to make this work out."  
  
He nodded and for a while they both just stood there. Elizabeth was wondering if she should tell him about the pregnancy, but decided it wasn't the right time. She needed to tell the father first. She finally broke the silence between them. "I should probably go. I'm sorry Mark."  
  
Despite everything, Mark had been good to her, and she was sad to be saying goodbye. But she was also sad that their relationship had become so passionless that he didn't even really seem to care that she was going out of his life. Or was it that he was being Mark, and trying to make her feel better, despite the fact she was breaking up with him? Why is it that she couldn't make it work with him? He was a good man - but she could never make it work with the good ones. She always chose the difficult ones instead!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next conversation was going to be a much tougher one. He wouldn't keep his feelings in to spare hers - that much she knew for sure.  
  
She pulled up to the house, sitting in her car for a few moments trying to collect her thoughts. She got up and walked to the front door, ringing the bell, unable to stop the suddenly vivid memories of the last time she had entered this house.  
  
That night, they had staggered to the front door, him fumbling - trying to get the key in the door without taking his lips from hers. She remembered how they had tumbled in the door when he finally got it open, falling to the ground just inside, already starting to tear each other's clothes off.  
  
She shook her head to rid herself of the memories. She remembered why she was here, and suddenly, she felt like she could cry. This was such a mess. At that moment, the door opened to the surprised face of -  
  
- Robert Romano!  
  
TBC  
  
~~~~~  
  
A/N - ok, like you didn't know who it was going to be!!  
  
Sorry if the ultrasound thing is not correct. I don't know if you could tell the age of the foetus that accurately, but call it creative licence! I needed it for the plot!  
  
So what do you think so far? Should I write more? 


	2. What to do?

Thanks for the positive encouragement to continue this story! I hope you like it. Sorry for the Mark/Susan stuff - I'm finding it hard to write them, but I hope to get better!  
  
This chapter is a bit too emotional for my liking, but it's necessary for the story. Things will lighten up later, I promise!  
  
Enjoy  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mark sat in his lounge room, musing over what had just happened. Elizabeth had told him it was over - he should be devastated. Yeah, he was upset that it was finally over, but truth be told, he had known it was coming. He knew Elizabeth's heart hadn't been in it since they got back together. To be fair, she had tried, but there just wasn't really anything there. He even felt a bit relieved because he knew he wouldn't have had the guts to break it off himself.  
  
He wondered what would happen now - back to the single life, I guess. He'd have to get back in to things. Maybe he'd go to that party Friday night after all. It sounded like it would be a good night out. He'd have to remember to ask Susan about it tomorrow.  
  
He smiled wryly at his thoughts. Clearly he wasn't that broken hearted since he was happily able to imagine getting on with his life.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Robert had heard someone pull up outside his house, and looked out curiously. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he assumed it was someone who was lost and had accidentally come to the wrong house. He was shocked to see that his visitor was Lizzie Corday. What on earth was she doing here? He couldn't imagine what would bring her to his house out of the blue like this.  
  
He remembered the last time she was at his house. How they had come in to the house full of passion and excitement, but the next morning, things had changed. They had been awkward and cold, and he had vowed from the moment she walked out that he would never let her in to his heart again.  
  
From that day, he resolved that Elizabeth Corday was simply a colleague and he would treat her as such. It was so hard for him to be around her and act like she didn't matter, but he was getting used to it. He noticed that even now, he wasn't getting his hopes up at the fact that she was at his door. He was surprised she was there, but he wasn't expecting anything from her.  
  
He went to the door, feeling strong as he opened it.  
  
"Dr Corday, what brings y-", but he stopped short with his curt greeting when he saw her face. She looked terrible; she was on the verge of tears as she stood there.  
  
"Lizzie, what's wrong? Come in." He said in concern, leading her in to the lounge to sit down. *Yeah, well done with the lack of caring!* he thought to himself.  
  
The tears had started to spill down her face, and he simple sat next to her awkwardly trying to comfort her, but not interrupting. When she got hold of herself again, he went to get her a glass of water, and gently asked her what was wrong.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Robert." She said. "I didn't mean to arrive at your door like this - things just caught up with me suddenly".  
  
"What is it - what's the matter?" He sounded so concerned.  
  
"I have to tell you something" she started hesitantly. When she saw she had his attention, she continued.  
  
"I'm pregnant".  
  
Robert pulled away from her at that. What was going on? She'd told Mark and he wasn't happy so she came to cry in his arms? Well he wasn't going to be here for her - not any more.  
  
"I see you and Dr Greene didn't waste any time then" he said bitterly, regaining some of his earlier distance from her.  
  
"I'm 8 weeks pregnant, Robert" she said.  
  
"And why have you come here so late at night to tell me this, Lizzie?" he asked. She looked at him, willing him to figure out what she was saying.  
  
"Mark and I only got back together 5 weeks ago" she said pointedly.  
  
Suddenly his face changed as he began to understand what she might be telling him.  
  
"So are you - am I - are we---?" he trailed off, unable to put the conclusion in to words.  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "It's yours" she said, keeping her gaze locked to his as she waited for his reaction.  
  
"How can you be sure?" he asked.  
  
"There wasn't anyone else" she told him. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't tell him this if she wasn't sure. He was just trying to buy some time so he could work out how he felt about this.  
  
"How did this happen?" he asked  
  
"Robert, you are a doctor - do I really need to explain it to you?" she said, unable to resist teasing him, despite the situation. He had the good grace to smile nervously at her joke.  
  
"But we used protection - didn't we?" he said, trying to remember all the details of that night. He generally didn't allow himself to think about it - it was too painful.  
  
"I don't think we did that first time.." Her voice trailed off as she gestured towards the stairs, and then blushed furiously at the memory, unable to meet his eyes.  
  
Robert didn't really notice - his mind was spinning. This was life changing stuff. Elizabeth Corday was going to have a baby and he was the father. Wait! Was she going to have it?  
  
"Are you going to - um - have the baby?" he asked tentatively - not sure if this was the sort of thing he should be asking  
  
"I don't know, Robert. I only just found out myself. I don't know what I'm going to do." She sighed. "Anyway, it's your baby too - I wouldn't make the decision without consulting you."  
  
He was relieved to hear she was including him in this. Then he suddenly remembered Mark.  
  
"What about Mark? Does he know?" he asked  
  
"No, I haven't told him about the baby. Actually, we broke up tonight." Robert looked shocked so she continued. "Not because of this - I was going to end it anyway. This just sort of put the final nail in the coffin".  
  
She seemed so distraught - he wanted to comfort her, but he could barely deal with this himself - he couldn't reach out to help her right now.  
  
They sat in silence next to each other for quite a while, both lost in their thoughts.  
  
Finally, he said "I'll support you in whatever you decide, Lizzie. You don't have to do this alone."  
  
She gave him a watery smile of gratitude. "Thanks. I need some time to think - I guess you do too. I just wanted to tell you as soon as I knew"  
  
"Thanks" he said absently. This was all so surreal. He was sitting in his house with Elizabeth, and she was telling him she was carrying his baby. It didn't seem real. It couldn't be real. It must be one of those dreams he often had. And while they often involved him on this very couch with Lizzie, they were generally a lot closer, and wearing fewer clothes in his dreams!  
  
He smiled briefly at this image, and then came back to the present with a bang when he realised Elizabeth was crying again.  
  
"I think it must be the hormones" she said apologetically. "I should probably get going - give you a chance to figure this out." She felt exhausted - all she wanted to do was sleep.  
  
"Are you sure you're ok to drive? You look shattered."  
  
"I'll be fine - I just need to get some sleep" and with that, she got up to leave.  
  
She turned to him as she walked out. "Thanks Robert - you've been very good about this. I don't deserve it"  
  
"Well, don't get too comfortable - I'm still in shock!" he said in return, regaining a bit of his usual sniping.  
  
Elizabeth sighed - she should be happy he had taken it as well has he had. She certainly didn't deserve it.  
  
She managed to get home safely, and fell thankfully in to bed, drifting in to an exhausted sleep almost immediately. She woke up with a start some time later, momentarily not remembering everything that was going on in her life, but then it all came crashing back.  
  
She broke up with Mark and she was pregnant with Robert Romano's baby. How the hell did her life get so complicated?  
  
She looked at the time - it was just gone 5am. She suddenly realised she was starving - she hasn't had dinner the previous night with all the fuss. She smiled wryly, knowing she would give a pregnant patient hell for skipping meals.  
  
'If I'm going to do this, I better start behaving better' she thought.  
  
That of course led her to the inevitable question of whether or not she going to have the baby? Robert certainly took the news pretty well - a lot better than she expected. He made it clear he would be supportive, which was good. But having this baby would mean having Robert Romano in her life forever, and that was a very strange thought. A couple of months ago, they were colleagues sharing a tentative friendship, then there was THAT night that changed things - and not in a good way. They had been barely civil to each other lately. The worst part was that she knew it was her fault - she deserved the way he treated her. She had walked out the following morning and refused to talk to him about what had happened between them. He'd made a few attempts, but soon gave up, and reverted to treating her like a virtual stranger. He got even colder when she started seeing Mark again.  
  
She got up and looked for something to eat, but all she could find was some left-over Chinese food, and a very dodgy looking slice of pizza. Great! She really needed to get her act together now that she was expecting a baby.  
  
Expecting a baby - Robert's baby. And the whole circle of confusion started all over again.  
  
Elizabeth found some bread and absently made some toast. Thankfully she wasn't feeling sick this morning - she didn't think she could have coped with that on top of everything else. She cleaned up, and then tried to cover the signs of her stress with copious amounts of makeup before leaving for work.  
  
Work! The place where she would have to face Mark and the entire ER, probably already gossiping about their break-up. The place where she would have to face Robert. She really had to make some decisions today.  
  
She thought about calling in sick, but she figured she would probably need her sick days later, so she braved the outside world and headed in to work. 


	3. Facing the truth

Hello again – I've finally got some time to write. Thanks heaps for all the reviews, as well as to all the people who have written other Cordano stories. I love you all ï

Mark was already at work as Elizabeth walked through the ER. She smiled tentatively at him as she walked past – he returned a nod, but there was a softness in his eyes that led her to realise he didn't hate her – not this time. They weren't exactly going to best mates, but at least he wasn't throwing her daggering looks.

She walked on; relieved she had at least made that first contact and it hadn't been terrible.

As she left, Susan came up to Mark, having seen the exchange with Elizabeth. She didn't say anything, just looked at him in concern. "I'll explain over coffee" he said in response to her unasked question. They moved towards the lounge, got themselves some coffee and sat down.

"We broke up – it's for good this time" Mark told her.

"I'm so sorry –"she started to say, but he interrupted.

"It's ok Susan – it was never going to work out – I pretty much knew it was coming." He assured his friend, but she looked concerned nonetheless. "I'm ok! Really!" he added at her look. "If you want to cheer me up, invite me to that party I heard you talking about on Friday".

Susan smiled at this – she knew Mark well enough to know that he really was going to be ok – it wasn't just bravado. She had seen how hurt he was last time Elizabeth broke up with him, and this was different. She figured they really had grown apart after all.

"I don't know, Mark. I mean, having you there with me might cramp my style" she teased.

"I promise I won't get in your way" he joked in return. "I don't want to ruin my own chances!"

They finished their coffee companionably – both comfortable with their friendship. Susan was happy to see Mark laughing again – he hadn't been happy for a while now. She resolved to look after him and make sure he cheered up.

Mark was a great guy – he deserved to be happy. She'd been surprised when she got back to Chicago to find he was with Elizabeth because Susan really didn't think that relationship made sense. Of course, she was hardly an unbiased observer. Much as she didn't like to admit it to herself, Susan had imagined she would sweep back in to County, and she and Mark would pick up where they had left off – where she had left him all those years earlier. How stupid of her to imagine he would still be waiting around for her just because she had finally decided Mark was the one for her and she had made a huge mistake leaving him.

She wasn't foolish enough to believe he was now going to fall in to her arms just because he was free – and she wouldn't have wanted it anyway. She didn't want him on the rebound. But it didn't mean she couldn't be his friend in the meantime - until he was ready for something more.

As they left the lounge to go back to work, Susan was feeling pretty good about life in general!

When Elizabeth got upstairs, she checked the rotation, and discovered that Robert didn't seem to be on that day. At least she didn't have to deal with him until she made her decision. She decided to make another appointment at the clinic to discuss her options. Well, it's not like she didn't already know what the options were, but she needed to hear this as a mother, not as a doctor, so it was easier to have someone else explain it to her.

The time came for her appointment, and she went to the desk to tell the nurses she would be gone for a while and made her way out. She got in to the elevator, but just as the doors were about to close, someone ran in. Elizabeth was almost knocked over, and was then shocked to realise who it was. Robert!

He offered a perfunctory apology, but then he realised who he had just almost knocked over.

"I didn't see you there, Lizzie" he offered as explanation, then asked..

"Are you on your way home?"

"No, just out for – um – a personal matter" she stumbled over her words, aware of the other people in the lift.

"Is it about – "he trailed off, looking towards her stomach with his eyes, to ask the question.

She nodded.

"Need some company?" he asked, trying to be casual, but Elizabeth could tell he genuinely wanted to help.

"I think I need to do this one by myself" she muttered, looking around to see if people were listening.

When the elevator got to the ground floor, they stepped out together, Robert drawing her aside out of view of the ER. She almost jumped at his touch. He used to touch her all the time at work – always guiding her with his hand on her back, or her elbow, or her shoulder – but since that night, he had stopped that habit, and she had to admit she had missed it. There was something familiar and comforting about it, and she needed all the comfort she could get at the moment.

"I'm only going to check out the options, Robert. I told you I wouldn't do anything without talking to you first."

He nodded at her to show he understood, and left her to her visit.

As Elizabeth left the clinic, she knew she had already made her decision. She didn't know how she felt about Robert being the father – it was too much to figure out right now, but it didn't matter. She had already started to think of the foetus growing inside her as her child. It didn't matter that the father of this baby was Robert Romano, and having this baby effectively meant having him in her life long term - she couldn't terminate the pregnancy.

Relieved that she had now made the decision, she resolved to tell Robert as soon as possible to see what his reaction was. He had offered to support her, but would he still feel the same way once she told him she was having the baby?

She found Robert in his office, and knocked tentatively. He looked up about to throw a barb at the person interrupting him until he realised who it was. He didn't say anything, merely looked at her questioningly.

"Can we talk?" she asked softly.

He nodded, indicating she should come in. He didn't trust himself to speak.

"Not here" she said. "Can I come over again tomorrow night?"

Robert smiled wryly at her request. There was a time when Elizabeth asking if she could come over would have been the answer to all his dreams. How things had changed! He nodded to show her that was ok.

"About 7?" he asked, and then regaining his pompous attitude, he added "have you been eating well, Lizzie?" Her guilty look was enough to tell him she wasn't. "In that case, I'll provide some dinner and make sure you eat it."

As she opened her mouth to protest, he interrupted with "And I don't want to hear any argument from you."

She couldn't resist smiling at him – Robert was back to his old self. He was calling her Lizzie, and ordering her around like old times, and she was slightly disturbed at how much this pleased her.

Susan gratefully sank down on the couch in the lounge on Friday evening after her shift. What a day! She didn't think she'd had a chance to sit down all day. She had a vague recollection of breakfast, and she hadn't had anything to eat all day otherwise. Just then, Mark came in and smiled when he saw his friend's expression.

"Are you going to be able to make it out tonight?" he asked, suddenly concerned she wouldn't come out.

"Once I've got some food in me, I'll be fine" she reassured.

"Do you – uh – want to get some dinner before the party?" he asked, trying to sound casual. "With me." He added for clarification.

Susan looked up at him, trying to read his face. He looked casual, so she figured this was just two friends having dinner together. Anyway, it'd only been two days since he broke up with Elizabeth, so it was too early for him to be asking anyone out on a date. What on earth was she thinking?

"That would be great – I haven't had anything since breakfast." She said, sounding just as casual in return.

They agreed a time and a place to meet, and both left work, looking forward to the night ahead, but feeling unsure at the same time.

Elizabeth sat in her car outside Robert's house for the second time that week. She took a deep breath and walked up to his door.

This time, she didn't feel such a mess as the last time. She had made her decision and was anxious to know what Robert would think of it.

He answered the door, and to her amusement, he was wearing an apron.

She couldn't hold in a laugh at the sight. "I wish I'd brought my camera, Robert." She said. "I wonder what everyone at County would think of this image".

"Now Lizzie" he retorted "Do you want to be fed or not?"

Elizabeth thought about this for a moment. A home cooked meal versus a chance to make fun of Robert! Of course, she quickly realised that bringing up Robert in an apron at work would mean explaining what she was doing at his house in the first place, so she admitted defeat and accepted his invitation to come in.

So how will Robert react? How will Mark react? Tune in next time to see.


	4. How will this work?

This one goes out to Janine, Em and Kim – for hounding me to update. Even though I'm in Australia, I was starting to feel scared you guys were going to come over and hassle me in person!! ;-) I promise I'll read your latest updates once I get this one out!! Sorry for the long delay.

Robert led them in to the lounge room, and indicated she should sit down. The atmosphere was strained – both of them knowing they needed to talk, but neither of them willing to make the first move.

"Would you like something to drink?" he asked casually. "I've got some iced tea".

Glad of the distraction, she made a face at this. "Tea should be hot" she insisted. "I don't know who thought it would be a good idea to serve it the way you Americans drink it" her tone teasing, but her distaste coming through nonetheless.

"I'm sorry your adopted country doesn't live up to your tastes" Robert retorted – basically reminding her she had chosen to live here, so stop complaining about the customs!

"How about some mineral water – or does adding fizz to the water upset you too?" he asked sarcastically.

She smirked at his jabbing. "That will be just fine, Robert"

As soon as he was out of the room, Elizabeth again was forced to think about why she was there. She couldn't bear the tension anymore, so as Robert walked back in with her drink she blurted out "I'm keeping the baby".

He stopped at the door, but didn't look at her, so she couldn't gauge his reaction. The silence hung in the air for a moment before Elizabeth gently prompted "Robert, did you hear what I said?"

Finally, Robert dared to meet her gaze. "Are you sure?" he asked softly. Elizabeth nodded in return. "Do you want me to be involved?" was his next question.

"I do, if you want to be." She said simply.

He looked at her for a moment, then spoke, more confident that before "Well Lizzie, I never thought I'd hear myself say these words to you of all people, but it looks like we're having a baby!"

They both laughed nervously at this.

For Robert, the moment was bitter-sweet. On the one hand, this was his dream situation – he and Elizabeth were having a baby. But in his dreams, they would be starting out life together as a family. Instead, he was facing the prospect of shared custody. It was difficult for him to know how he should feel about that.

For Elizabeth, she was already attached to this baby, and was glad she was having it. She was glad Robert was willing to be supportive, but was nervous about his view on the situation. Would he think this meant they were together? What would it be like to have Robert in her life long term? How on earth would this work in reality?

They sat there for a moment, before Robert remembered dinner and excused himself to run to the kitchen. Judging by the muffled cursing Elizabeth could hear, things weren't going so well in there. She got up to follow him in, only to find him running his hand under the cold tap, with a nasty looking burn forming on his hand.

"Burned it on the oven rack" he explained ruefully.

"Do you have a first aid kit?" Elizabeth asked – her doctor's instincts kicking in.

"Top shelf" he indicated with his head and she retrieved the kit and found the burn cream.

Taking his hand from the water, she gently patted it dry with a towel, and then carefully rubbed some of the cream on his hand. Elizabeth tried to concentrate on his injury, and not get distracted by his closeness, or by the feel of his skin under hers. Being back in the kitchen, it was difficult not to be reminded of the night they had shared. The last time she was in here was when they had gotten up for a midnight snack. They had shared some left over lasagne, fed each other ice cream and then ended up making love on the kitchen table.

She stole a glance at Robert, and judging by the way he was staring straight ahead and concentrating on his breathing, she guessed his thoughts weren't far from hers. After a moment, he snatched his hand away, and moved back to retrieving the food from the oven. This time he was careful to put on an oven glove.

Elizabeth sighed – this was going to be harder than she thought. Somehow, she had naively set aside her feelings for Robert. They had reached a professional distance the last number of weeks, and she had expected this was going to continue. What she hadn't expected was that spending even the smallest amount of time together would rekindle the feelings she had so easily managed to ignore up to now. If this was going to work out, she needed to get those feelings under control.

She didn't want to fall in to a relationship with Robert just because they were having a child together. She almost laughed at how ludicrous this sounded, but it was how she felt. She could only deal with so much at once. Breaking up with Mark and the unexpected pregnancy was as much as she could cope with right now. She couldn't possibly worry about anything else until she had come to grips with that.

Robert seemed to have recovered his composure and she realised he was asking her where she wanted to eat.

She chose the dining room, since that room didn't have any memories that would be her undoing, and the meal passed in relative ease. Elizabeth realised she hadn't eaten this well in a long time. Robert really was a good cook – she could get used to this pampering.

"You're looking better" Robert commented, seeing the contented look on her face. He tried to hide his pleasure at having her there, and being responsible for her looking like she was feeling better about things.

"Yes, thanks Robert." She acknowledged. "I haven't eaten so well in ages".

After another pause, Robert decided to get in there and say his piece.

"Lizzie, I don't just want to be involved with the baby" he said, "our baby" he corrected, unable to stifle a smile at the idea. "I want to be there through the pregnancy too." He noticed her slight flinch at his words, so quickly continued. "After all – this is the next generation of Romano genes we're talking about here. I don't want just any of those incompetents at County looking after her."

"Don't worry, I'm not seeing anyone at County. And what makes you think it's a girl?" she asked, grinning now that she realised he wasn't trying to get heavy and suggest a relationship.

Robert blushed, recognising that subconsciously he had been picturing their baby as a mini Elizabeth. He tried to cover this up with a lame excuse about not wanting her to think he was a chauvinist by saying "him" and she accepted his excuse, albeit sceptically.

They continued on with this banter for a while – feeling quite relaxed in each others company despite the circumstance. Perhaps it was easier to revert to the behaviour they were used to than deal with this strange new reality. After some time, however, Elizabeth was again suddenly struck with how tired she was, and made a move to say goodnight.

"Are you ok to drive home" Robert asked, noticing too that she looked tired.

"I'll manage" she said as she got up to leave, but immediately felt her knees give way and sat back down.

"Why don't you stay here tonight, Lizzie" he offered. At her horrified look, he quickly added "In the guest room - I promise I won't take advantage of you!" He winked, trying to keep things light.

Elizabeth thought about it – she certainly didn't feel like driving home. The offer was very tempting, but then again being in this house brought back so many memories of the last time she was here and she was finding it difficult to dismiss them. Oddly enough, she knew she could trust Robert to behave – it was herself and her hormones she was worried about! She was feeling exhausted though, so they was probably safe.

"Yes, all right. I will stay, thank you Robert". She smiled up at him to show how grateful she was.

They were both aware of the awkwardness of the situation, so Robert quickly got her set up in the guest room, and let her to get some sleep. As he was leaving the room, she called his name.

He turned around to see her smile wearily – "Thanks"

As Robert left the room, he found himself wondering at the turn of events that had Lizzie sleeping in his guest room, pregnant with his baby given that a few days earlier; they had barely been on speaking terms. He had to admit it wasn't a bad turn of events, but that didn't make it any less surprising.

A/N - Next chapter, some more Marsan action, the Cordanos have been hounding me more!! Also some flashbacks to "that night"!


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